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<title>The trouble with ... tribbles? No : Quails, yes. Quails. Definitely quails. by GayDemonicDisaster (scrapheapchallenge)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318647">The trouble with ... tribbles? No : Quails, yes. Quails. Definitely quails.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrapheapchallenge/pseuds/GayDemonicDisaster'>GayDemonicDisaster (scrapheapchallenge)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman &amp; Terry Pratchett</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxious Aziraphale (Good Omens), Caring Aziraphale (Good Omens), Caring Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley is Bad at Being a Demon (Good Omens), Crowley is a Sweetheart (Good Omens), Crowley is a shit demon, Crowley is a softboi, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Soft Aziraphale (Good Omens), Soft Crowley (Good Omens), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Worried Aziraphale (Good Omens), quails, soft snek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:40:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrapheapchallenge/pseuds/GayDemonicDisaster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by this comic: <a href="https://qiuomg.tumblr.com/post/188626864594/exodus16"> Tumblr link</a><br/>The Almighty needs to send sustenance to the Israelites, and a certain angel is tasked with delivering some mana to them. Except it is rather tasty, and he is rather hungry. After a telling off, Crowley steps in to help the hapless angel. </p><p>LOOK IT'S JUST POINTLESS FLUFF, OK? Plus look at Crowley, just LOOK AT HIM! He's a softboi.</p><p> </p><p>  <strong> the lovely Quefish has done a live reading of this over on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWDlmYlf7ps">Youtube</a> </strong></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale &amp; Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>226</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The trouble with ... tribbles? No : Quails, yes. Quails. Definitely quails.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aziraphale looked down at the pile of bready lumps in his arms. He juggled his hands a little trying to hold it all and a few pieces dropped down and bounced around his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what am I supposed to do with it again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michael rolled her eyes at him. “Just… scatter it about, let the humans find it. They’re hungry and there’s bugger all to eat down there. Just.. y’know… throw it about a bit. Then come back for more. There’s a big pile of it here, just keep going until it’s all gone. Get going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The angel nodded and shuffled off. The stuff smelled delicious, he ducked his head down and grabbed a piece in his teeth, chewing thoughtfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It tasted divine… literally. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grabbed another as he walked onward. There wasn’t an escalator per se, not in this time period, but there was a long spiralling cloud formation that he ambled down toward earth until he was at a low enough height to start scattering the stuff from above. Pieces of soft bready fluff began to fall from the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aaron looked up as something bounced off his head. He inspected the curious lump, then reached out his tongue to lick it tentatively. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “HEY! Moses! Check this stuff out!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aziraphale held back a handful and nibbled happily as he went back for another armful. It really was quite heavenly tasting. Well, he supposed, it should be really. He popped another in his mouth happily and made his way back to the pile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t resist scooping up another couple of pieces before loading up his arms again. Wheelbarrows hadn’t been invented yet. He ate a few more with contented little sounds of pleasure as he shuffled back to the spiral cloud. He’d consumed quite a few more by the time he got to the lower levels to scatter what was left down on Moses and the Israelites below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made a few more trips, helping himself to more pieces as he went. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>rather more-ish. He scurried back for more. He needed a breather. He sat down on the pile and picked at the mana happily for a few minutes. He heard an annoyed throat being cleared behind him and jumped guiltily, spinning around. “Michael!” he squeaked in alarm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aziraphale, what in heaven’s name are you doing? You’re supposed to be scattering it, not eating it all!” She snatched a piece from his hand and flung it aside in irritation. “You obviously can’t be trusted with this job, can’t be trusted with a flaming sword, can’t be trusted with some simple mana. I’ll get Uriel to take over here, I’m assigning you to another job. Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Crowley sat on an outcrop of rock near the Israelite’s encampment, watching them collecting the bready lumps with mild interest, when he heard a breathless scurrying, and saw a familiar shape running across the sand, arms full of cheeping, feathery blobs. He set them down carefully on the ground, where they started pecking and scraping at the dust, then snapped his fingers and disappeared again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crowley watched the strange feathery little orbs fluttering about in mild surprise, then heard a twinkling sound, and the angel re-appeared, arms again full of little balls of feathery floof. He let go of them and they fluttered helplessly to the ground on inefficient wings and began to peck about with the rest. He snapped his fingers and was gone again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crowley stood and sauntered over to the tiny birds. They shuffled out of his way but didn’t seem scared by the demon’s presence. He picked one up, it cheeped at him. He stroked it gently then set it down again, puzzled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another tinkling noise, and the angel reappeared, this time he spotted Crowley amidst the quail and paused, confused. The demon looked confused right back at him. He waved at the armful of poultry in his arms questioningly. “Aziraphale, what on earth are you up to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The angel looked flustered. “God’s will” he yelped, dropped his armful of birds and snapped away again. Crowley was taken aback. He waited. Shortly, Aziraphale reappeared again with a fresh load of passengers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God’s will?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aziraphale dropped the new batch of quail and nodded. “Yes, must hurry, mustn’t get in trouble again…” he snapped and was gone. Crowley sighed and waited. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another tinkle, and the angel was back, struggling to contain his armload of feathery charges. Crowley picked one out his arms and stroked it thoughtfully. “But why quail, Angel?” Aziraphale dropped the rest and shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I was eating the mana.” he mumbled guiltily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crowley gave him a long, blank look. The quail in his arms cheeped contentedly and fluffed her feathers up, snuggling into the demon’s arms happily. Another did a dropping on Aziraphale’s foot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not sure I follow, Angel…” Crowley said at last.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Almighty is sending food for the Israelites. Mana and quail. I was on mana duty but Michael caught me eating it so she switched me to… these…” he waved a hand around him despondently. A quail pecked at his toes inquisitively. “Well I must be getting back up for another load, then I’m to herd this lot closer to the camp, I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail…” A snap, and the angel was gone again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crowley sat back on the rock and stroked his quail idly while he watched the rest pecking around him. Ineffable, the whole lot of it, he thought. Presently, Aziraphale arrived again with another armful of fluffy cheepers and plonked them on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, that seems to be all of them for now anyway, I suppose I’d better get them moving.” He made vague arm movements toward the assembled flock, who looked up at him curiously but made no effort to move. Aziraphale sighed in exasperation. “Shoo!” he hissed at them, ineffectually. The quails were quite literally unmoved. Aziraphale looked panicky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, Angel?” Crowley sighed after watching him chasing the birds to no avail for a few minutes, growing increasingly worried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m already in such trouble over the mana and if I don’t get this done properly then I’ll be in even more trouble, and Michael really doesn’t have much patience with me at the best of times and…” Crowley raised an eyebrow at him. Aziraphale trailed off helplessly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The demon sighed. “Here, hold Marjorie…” he handed over the little quail in his arms. Aziraphale looked confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marjorie?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m claiming this one. Tuck her in your robe for a minute so she doesn’t see, ok?” Aziraphale looked confused but complied and cradled the little bird in his sleeve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where Crowley had been standing was something </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was a loud screeching sound and a kerfuffle of hissing and tentacles in the direction of the assembled birds, who took one look at the writhing manifestation before them, and very urgently decided that they wanted to be nowhere near it whatsoever. The flock fled in a flurry of feathers, in the direction of the camp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crowley shook himself back into his favourite shape again, then reached out to Aziraphale, who silently handed Marjorie back to the demon again. Crowley snapped his fingers and summoned a handful of grain which he held for the little bird to peck at in his arms. She cheeped contentedly, and Crowley smiled down at her, then looked up again at Aziraphale. “That all ok, Angel?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aziraphale nodded. “Uh, thank you, dear boy, I really am very grateful…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> say that,” Crowley hissed quietly. “I’m stealing one of god’s quails, it was just a demonic thwarting, that’s all. You’re one short. This one isn’t getting eaten, so there. I’m doing evil."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azirpahale nodded and tried to suppress a smile. “Of course. I’ll, um, be seeing you around, then?” Crowley shrugged and stroked Marjorie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, catch you later, Angel.” He turned on his heel and ambled off, murmuring to the little creature in his arms. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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